Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941 film)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Original theatrical release poster
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by Harry E. Edington
Written by Norman Krasna
Starring
Music by Edward Ward
Cinematography Harry Stradling Sr.
Edited by William Hamilton
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • January 31, 1941 (1941-01-31)
Running time
 94 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $743,000[2]
Box office $1.4 million[2]

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Norman Krasna, and starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. It also features Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, and Lucile Watson.

While Hitchcock later claimed he directed the film—the only pure comedy he made in America—as a favor to Lombard, the files at RKO Radio Pictures show that Hitchcock himself pursued the project.[3]

Plot

Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard

Ann (Carole Lombard) and David Smith (Robert Montgomery) are a married couple living in New York City who, though happy, have fights that last for days before they reconcile.

One morning, Ann asks David if he would marry her again if he had it to do over. Although he says he is very happy with her now and wouldn't marry anyone else, he says he would not.

Later that day, Harry Deever (Charles Halton), an Idaho county official, informs David at work that due to a jurisdictional mishap, their three-year-old marriage license from Idaho is not valid. Since Deever is a family acquaintance of Ann's from Idaho, he stops by their apartment to tell Ann and her mother (Esther Dale) the same thing. Ann does not mention this to David. She believes he will remarry her that very night when he invites her to a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant they frequented before they were married.

When they arrive at the restaurant, it has declined in quality and become rundown, and they return home. Ann grows impatient and confronts David, accusing him of not wanting to marry her again. David protests and claims he was going to ask her shortly, but Ann dismisses him and kicks him out of their apartment.

David spends the night at his club, but when he goes home after work the next day Ann's maid refuses him entry. David waits in the lobby and sees Ann return with an older gentleman. Believing the man is her suitor, David becomes angry and disheartened. He follows Ann and threatens to withhold support. He gets her fired from her new job (the older gentleman is not her suitor, but her new boss). Ann tells David she has no intention of ever marrying him again.

David's friend and law partner, Jefferson "Jeff" Custer (Gene Raymond), tells David he will talk to Ann and persuade her to remarry. However, when David arrives that evening, he finds that Jeff has instead agreed to legally represent Ann. Jeff asks Ann to dinner the following night in David's presence. David tells Ann that if she agrees to the date their marriage is over, but Ann accepts the invitation.

After dinner, Ann and Jeff go to the 1939 New York World's Fair, but they become stuck on the parachute ride and are exposed to hours of rain many feet up in the air. When they get back to Jeff's apartment, he plans to put on dry clothes and return to the fair, but Ann feeds the teetotaler "medicinal" liquor ostensibly to prevent a cold, and he becomes drunk. Ann returns home.

Ann and Jeff begin to date seriously, and Ann meets Jeff's parents. They decide to take a vacation with Jeff's parents at a Lake Placid skiing resort — the same resort where Ann and David had earlier been planning to holiday. Upon arriving at the resort, they find that David has rented a cabin next to theirs. When confronted, David faints. David pretends to be sick and delirious while Ann fawns over him. When Ann discovers his deception, she becomes furious. While they argue heatedly, Jeff walks in. He knows Ann and David are meant for each other when Ann tries to manipulate him into fighting David.

Ann decides she wants to get away to the lodge by ski, even though she does not know how to ski. David offers to help her put on her skis, but instead places her in a position that prevents her from standing up. As she struggles and threatens him, she frees one foot, but then feigns helplessness by reattaching the ski. David realizes her pretense, and silences her ranting by kissing her.

Cast

Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard

Alfred Hitchcock can be seen passing Montgomery in front of his apartment building, as the camera pulls back, at about 43 minutes into the film. To the delight of the crew, Lombard herself directed Hitchcock in the brief scene, forcing him to redo his very simple part many times.[4]

Production

Norman Krasna came up with the basic idea of Mr. & Mrs. Smith (under the original working titles of "Who Was That Lady I Seen You With?" and "No for an Answer") and pitched it to Carole Lombard who was enthusiastic. She sold the idea to George Schaefer of RKO who agreed to buy the project from Krasna, then Alfred Hitchcock became involved.[5] In the 1939 interview What I Do to the Stars, Hitchcock is about to leave England for Hollywood and says he would like to make a movie with Carole Lombard, casting her not in one of her superficial comedies, but in a serious role, because he believes she could be as good a serious actor as Paul Muni or Leslie Howard. The result was Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Hitchcock was never happy with the result and was later dismissive of the film.[4]

Mr. & Mrs. Smith was Lombard's last film released before her death. To Be or Not to Be (1942) was her final film, released two months after she died in an aircraft crash while on a War Bond tour.

Reception

Mr. & Mrs. Smith was a hit and made a profit of $750,000.[2] The review in The New York Times described the film thus: "Despite the performances, despite the endless camera magic with which Mr. Hitchcock tries to conceal the thinness of his material, 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' have their moments of dullness. The result is a chucklesome comedy that fails to mount into a coruscating wave of laughter."[6] Variety reviewers were more enthusiastic about the film, noting: "Alfred Hitchcock pilots the story in a straight farcical groove without resort to slapstick interludes or overplaying by the characters. Pacing his assignment at a steady gait, Hitchcock catches all of the laugh values from the above par script of Norman Krasna."[7]

Adaptations in other media

Lux Radio Theatre adapted Mr. & Mrs. Smith to radio on June 9, 1941 with Carole Lombard and Bob Hope. The Screen Guild Theater next adapted it on February 8, 1942 with Errol Flynn and Lana Turner, again on December 14, 1942 with Joan Bennett, Robert Young, and Ralph Bellamy, and once more on January 1, 1945 with Preston Foster, Louise Albritton, and Stuart Erwin. On January 30, 1949, it was adapted to Screen Director's Playhouse with Robert Montgomery, Mary Jane Croft, and Carlton Young.

References

  1. ↑ "MR. & MRS. SMITH (A)". British Board of Film Classification. February 24, 1941. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Jewel, Richard. "RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951". Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, Vol. 14, No 1, 1994. p. 56.
  3. ↑ Spoto 1999, p. 237.
  4. 1 2 Steinberg, Jay S. "Articles: Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: September 29, 2013.
  5. ↑ McGilligan 1986, p. 219.
  6. ↑ T.S. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941); At the Music Hall." The New York Times, February 21, 1941.
  7. ↑ "Review: "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Variety, December 31, 1940.
Bibliography
  • McGilligan, Patrick. "Norman Krasna: The Woolworth's Touch". Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1986. ISBN 978-0-52005-689-3.
  • Spoto, Donald. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Da Capo, 1999. ISBN 0-306-80932-X.
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